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I hear graphene's hot! Get that graphene!!

Absolutely. You could've blinked and missed it. Such a great reply from @yuna628, I really appreciate the thought-provoking commentary. That last part on your parents' attitudes about their SSB though, that's what incenses me. Please take my criticism in stride here; there are certainly people of all ages and economical status pissed about the tariffs, and I should've specified those with the portfolios already, which accounts for about two thirds of the boomer generation. Pare that back to 58% for Gen X, about half for Millenials, and Gen Z portfolios are virtually non-existent. I do have sympathy for those who might be angry, who are not in a position to understand the nuances of the economy or have other pratfalls that this opportunity passed them by. My husband and I are pinching insomuch that we did not manage to buy anything in the dip. Even still, I hope that many did, who did not have a chance before. Ultimately as we are all the arbiters of our destinies, that lies in individual choice.

Correct: we want to know if additional documentation beyond tax forms is useful for verifying the pause in employment. It is already troublesome that South Africa has a different tax calendar than us here in the states, and it is difficult to note the pause except that upon inspection, one might notice that his salary assessed for the 2024 tax year only adds up to ten months. We have our MFJ 2024 transcript, as well as his paystubs. We just want to provide full documentation for our agent when the time comes. Thanks for the anecdote! We appreciate it.

Today's stats: April 10, 2025 9:53am CDT October 2024 Filed I-485 Stats • Approved: 3234 (+37) • Denied: 245 (+9) • Fingerprint Scheduled: 127 (-3) • Interview Cancelled: 555 (+6) • Interview Scheduled: 7477 (+307) • Processing: 28,628 (-354) • Received: 496 (-3) • Rejected: 95 (0) • RFE: 328 (-2) • Terminated: 127 (+1) • Withdrawal: 20 (+1) • Others: 18 (0)

Today's stats: April 9, 2025 2:50pm CDT October 2024 Filed I-485 Stats • Approved: 3197 (+51) • Denied: 236 (+6) • Fingerprint Scheduled: 130 (-2) • Interview Cancelled: 549 (+4) • Interview Scheduled: 7170 (+295) • Processing: 28,982 (-353) • Received: 499 (-3) • Rejected: 95 (0) • RFE: 330 (+3) • Terminated: 126 (-1) • Withdrawal: 19 (0) • Others: 18 (0)

Today's stats: April 8, 2025 1:03pm CDT October 2024 Filed I-485 Stats • Approved: 3146 (+48) • Denied: 230 (+2) • Fingerprint Scheduled: 132 (0) • Interview Cancelled: 545 (+1) • Interview Scheduled: 6875(+328) • Processing: 29,335 (-375) • Received: 502 (-1) • Rejected: 95 (0) • RFE: 327 (-2) • Terminated: 127 (0) • Withdrawal: 19 (0) • Others: 18 (0)

Today's stats: April 7, 2025 12:28pm CDT October 2024 Filed I-485 Stats • Approved: 3098 (+46) • Denied: 228 (+3) • Fingerprint Scheduled: 132 (-2) • Interview Cancelled: 544 (+1) • Interview Scheduled: 6547 (+233) • Processing: 29,710 (-279) • Received: 503 (0) • Rejected: 95 (0) • RFE: 329 (0) • Terminated: 127 (-1) • Withdrawal: 19 (0) • Others: 18 (-1)

Absolutely! I wouldn't have created this thread expecting the comments to be left blank. Always welcoming of healthy debate on this.

Today's stats: April 6, 2025 1:10pm CDT October 2024 Filed I-485 Stats • Approved: 3052 (+80) • Denied: 225 (+2) • Fingerprint Scheduled: 134 (-2) • Interview Cancelled: 543 (0) • Interview Scheduled: 6314 (+249) • Processing: 29,989 (-331) • Received: 503 (-2) • Rejected: 95 (0) • RFE: 329 (+4) • Terminated: 128 (0) • Withdrawal: 19 (0) • Others: 19 (0)

Hot take: if we actually wanted to help them, we would'nt have pushed them into a clearly predatory scam that had coopted the boomer experience of paying triple digit amounts for one semester of tuition. In my opinion, boomers are absolutely responsible for the student debt woes of their kids. "Just do what I did, that's the path to success. Borrow enough to make it through, it'll pay for itself." They're welcome to pay off the mistakes they fostered in their own families. I, as a taxpayer who swerved that unfortunate step, am not interested in doing that for them.

Maybe explain that to the guy who woefully lost six figures above, overnight. He seems to have missed the memo. Nice theory, but the actual affect of tariffs on the stateside economies takes a lot longer to hit food shelves and gas stations than the stock market. In fact, OPEC already made negotiations so we are likely to see fuel prices drop in the coming weeks. Oil is down to less than $70/barrel so no, this is not going to cut the bottom line out from the younger folks' spending power. It's going to make people who live on their portfolios cry a bit: those rich people you love so much.

Just wish the reading comprehension was there for those who actually need this post in their lives C'est la vie. Thank you kindly for reading.

Liberation Day has brought out some very angry people, namely the older relatives in my family. Whatever their political alignments, if they had any kind of stock portfolio, they're seeing red. 'Trump has lost me so much money,' is the argument of choice now, as if our commander in chief has just committed financial seppuku on behalf of the American people. But there seems to be a visceral need to find any excuse to be mad, as in, they were waiting for this opportunity. This confirms all their fears, and fuels their anger, if colored through their lens of choice. I grew up in a bipartisan household, where my father was at least in the traditional sense a Republican, and my mother a lifelong Democrat. Dad was a finances guy and my mother inherited his portfolio which has afforded her a life of comfort, and when paired with social security, moreso now that she is retired. It's an incredible blessing that, quite frankly, many of the boomer generation take for granted. Roth IRAs and 401ks are foreign concepts to many millenials, and certainly younger, who all have struggled to stay afloat on day to day costs. Retirement planning is essentially a pipe dream. But the silver lining has been the tariffs of Liberation Day, and I'll tell you why: While the elders of our population decry the plunge, this has opened a window for younger Americans to actually begin to invest in their futures. Honestly, the selective outrage over this particular crash, per se, is laughable to me. We all knew that the economy would take a hit with tariffs, that there would be a painful transition but that we could come out better for it on the other end, bringing industry back to America and applying some reciprocity that other countries had taken full advantage of over the years. Why did we lower tariffs to China in the first place? To encourage free markets and the potential for democratic influence; see how well that turned out. Instead, we have the luxury of handing off our production to unethical labor practices overseas. If that means someone suffered financial loss due to the Orange Man and is now convinced this is hell freezing over, they are welcome to panic while others keep a steady head. In the meantime, the mantra "Sell High Buy Low" plays perfectly into this moment. Notice that there has been no fluctuation in the buy or sell rates from Thursday; strong investors are not running for the hills to offload their worthless shares. In fact, most have played this hand well to buy up, because they KNOW there will be a recovery. The smartest of the younger generations are following suit, and for the very first time are able to secure portfolios which may do them far better in the future than crossing fingers and praying in vain that Social Security will be around when they need it. The blight of tariffs is only offensive to those who have had an adulthood paved in gold, who fail to understand the struggles of their children and grandchildren, and, to put it bluntly, offend me with their lack of care for anything beyond their noses. I have zero sympathy for them and their faltering riches. The future belongs to us, and I am quite content to experience the hiccup that hard tariff negotiations bring.

I would argue that this is an opportunity for younger generations, finally, and a bold stroke for securing their party alignment. What you tragically lost will be recovered in due time; in the meantime, any Dow plummet gives access to those without a stock portfolio. Young adults who have had to spend the majority of their independent years just contemplating how to acquire assets, are able to buy low. The market will recover. This is a gift to younger millenials and Z who have had zero opportunities here. Sorry, I guess.

Strikes chords like the Brett Cooper interview with Shawn Ryan, where we learned that one of her older brothers died in high school during a rowing competition, leaving behind a twin brother who has struggled with addiction and schizophrenia ever since. It is definitely going to be a tough road for Hunter Metcalf. I hope Brett reaches out to him.

The "shackling" part is just silly. I'm sorry, was she in handcuffs for the car ride or strung up like she was in a Turkish prison? Please.

DTW was solid when Jon went through on his K1. I was surprised, knowing the airport well from my flight attendant days. Their customs is like a well oiled machine. I've seen much worse.

You got this! Everyone in the community is rooting for you. Get that interview!

Today's stats: April 5, 2025 11:45am CDT October 2024 Filed I-485 Stats • Approved: 2972 (+61) • Denied: 223 (+2) • Fingerprint Scheduled: 136 (-2) • Interview Cancelled: 543 (-1) • Interview Scheduled: 6065 (+288) • Processing: 30,320 (-344) • Received: 505 (0) • Rejected: 95 (0) • RFE: 325 (-4) • Terminated: 128 (0) • Withdrawal: 19 (0) • Others: 19 (0)

Gah, I missed a day, sorry! Status updates ofc reflect a two day change instead of one. Today's stats: April 2, 2025 10:04am CDT October 2024 Filed I-485 Stats • Approved: 2911 (+151) • Denied: 221 (+9) • Fingerprint Scheduled: 138 (-2) • Interview Cancelled: 544 (+8) • Interview Scheduled: 5777 (+534) • Processing: 30,664 (-696) • Received: 505 (-3) • Rejected: 95 (0) • RFE: 329 (+1) • Terminated: 128 (-1) • Withdrawal: 19 (+1) • Others: 19 (-1)

I would argue that the ideal one is none at all. In the digital age, journalism has evolved to online platforms, where your average citizen can be as accurate, unbiased, and promoted as the talking head on CNN. Journalistic integrity from the corporate sector is buried ten times over. Media organizations are antiquated concepts scrambling for relevance with their aging audience. What you'd create with this proposed system, instead of desperate sycophancy, is a bunch of stockbrokers trying to track the metric of "most talented" in order to get to the money.

Today's stats: April 2, 2025 10:04am CDT October 2024 Filed I-485 Stats • Approved: 2760 (+49) • Denied: 212 (+1) • Fingerprint Scheduled: 140 (-3) • Interview Cancelled: 536 (+6) • Interview Scheduled: 5243 (+227) • Processing: 31,360 (-279) • Received: 508 (-3) • Rejected: 95 (0) • RFE: 328 (+1) • Terminated: 129 (0) • Withdrawal: 19 (+1) • Others: 20 (0)

Forget bridges; if you think by association with American funding an organization is somehow absolved, man.. I got two towers to sell you. And yet, no sign of it on his I-485. Should we not be critical of omissions/misrepresentations? There is a question for that as well.

One of the perks of living in the upper midwest: every winter you get a ton of extra fridge space. It's called a garage

Today's stats: April 1, 2025 10:00am CDT October 2024 Filed I-485 Stats • Approved: 2711 (+31) • Denied: 211 (+5) • Fingerprint Scheduled: 143 (-2) • Interview Cancelled: 530 (+5) • Interview Scheduled: 5016 (+143) • Processing: 31,639 (-179) • Received: 511 (-1) • Rejected: 95 (0) • RFE: 327 (-2) • Terminated: 129 (0) • Withdrawal: 18 (0) • Others: 20 (0)